Pictures of missing women submitted to Mati Nepal, a Kathmandu-based NGO, which works to protect victims of human trafficking.
Photograph: Jonas Gratzer/Getty Images

Rights groups in Nepal say they do not know of a single survivor of human trafficking who has received compensation under a law introduced a decade ago.

An act that came into force in 2007 guarantees compensation for trafficking victims (pdf), but only after the perpetrator has been convicted, a caveat that has left survivors facing years of traumatic court proceedings and threats from their traffickers.

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A new report in which 125 trafficking cases were reviewed found that, while courts awarded compensation in more than half the cases, no one has so far received it.

Sabin Shrestha, executive director of the Forum for Women, Law and Development (FWLD), which produced the study, said: “The biggest tragedy for us is that the conviction rate is good. The perpetrators are being punished … but not a single survivor has benefited.”

Four other experts, with decades of experience in the field, also said they were unaware of any case where a survivor had received compensation.

The government initially rebutted the claims. Radhika Aryal, a senior civil servant at the women, children and social welfare ministry, said: “The government agencies provide compensation to the survivor, according to the court’s verdict. We have been doing so in many cases … without delay.”

Aryal later admitted, however, that she knew of only two cases of trafficking victims receiving compensation.

More typical are the stories of women like Shanti, who was trafficked to India at the age of 13. Shanti (not her real name) waited nine years for her case to go through the courts, but is yet to receive any payment.

“I have faced threats from the traffickers … I couldn’t spend a single day in peace as I always felt insecure before the verdict,” she said. “I couldn’t develop as a person, as I had to keep visiting my past through the courts.”

The law states that compensation should be paid out of the fine levied on the perpetrators, leaving survivors in limbo until the legal process is complete. If the trafficker cannot pay, the government must do so. Proving that the perpetrator does not have the funds is itself a lengthy and difficult process, however.

“Though the court verdict says I should be getting compensation, as far as I understand … I will have to prove that the culprit is not rich enough to pay compensation; only then will the government give me the amount,” said Shanti.

Even if Shanti eventually secures the payment, it is unlikely to reflect the ordeal she has been through. Research by the FWLD found that, in almost two-thirds of cases, courts ordered compensation of just 50,000 Nepalese rupees (£380).

The funds awarded are typically only 50% of the trafficker’s fine, with the remainder going to the government.

“How can the government keep half of any compensation given to survivors?” said Benu Gurung, executive director of the Alliance Against Trafficking in Women and Children in Nepal. “We demand all of the fine is given to the victim.”

Gurung added that some people find it is easier, and more lucrative, to accept hush money from the traffickers than go through the courts.

“From a survivor’s perspective, rather than face threats from traffickers, or risk being exposed as a victim of trafficking, it is better to accept a payoff, especially when you have no confidence that you will ever receive compensation,” said Gurung.

Rights groups are calling for immediate interim financial support for survivors, higher rates of reparations and greater efforts to make survivors aware of their right to recompense.

“We survivors demand the government compensate us first and later get the money from the culprit,” said Shanti. “How long will it take? Will I ever get justice?”